Washington Asks Ecuador to Reject Snowden’s Asylum Request

US Vice President Joe Biden has talked with Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, both countries confirmed. Washington was sketchy on details, but Correa claimed that Biden asked that Ecuador refuse asylum for former NSA analyst Edward Snowden, reports the BBC. Washington is running scared of Snowden and utilizing any means possible to back him into a corner. Saturday more revelations were making waves in Europe. The BBC noted:

A German magazine says a document leaked by Mr Snowden shows the US bugged EU offices. Spiegel magazine says a September 2010 “top-secret” document of the US National Security Agency outlines how the agency bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the UN. The document explicitly referred to the EU as a “target,” the magazine reports.

Spiegel also carried a report that begins:

Overzealous data collectors in the US and Great Britain have no right to investigate German citizens. The German government must protect people from unauthorized access by foreign intelligence agencies, and it must act now. This is a matter of national security.

Sunday the fall-out from the bugging allegations looked to set impact negatively on EU / US relations. The head of the European parliament has dmanded “full clarification” reports the BBC. If Spiegel’s claims are correct key EU premises in America were bugged.

Opinion

Do you blame Snowden for this mess or the Western governments that have abused their powers to spy on free citizens in the West? It is clear that many people in Europe do not see Snowden as a problem. They see him as part of a possible solution. His leaked documents include information the public have a right to see; it is not only suitable for the eyes of a select few.

Data sharing may be common practice, but it is now abundantly clear those spying have crossed the proverbial red line. Mr. President, the “little people ” are not happy. Having a supposed liberal US president spying on citizens is shameful. If you have any sympathy for whistle-blower Edward Snowden, you have to feel for the guy. Whatever his whistle-blowing motives were, he faces a tough life for the foreseeable future, perhaps for as long as he lives.

Holed up, as far as we know, in an airport terminal in Moscow, he is a man with no country. This week the security guards who patrol the airport accommodation made it clear to the media they were sick of “the American.” As journalists roam the motel and airport buildings, hoping for a glimpse of Snowden, security is tight.